I am by your side
by foreverinfrontofu
Summary: A series of one-shots that can take place anywhere before, in or after the movie. Featuring (Maleficent x Diaval) (Aurora x Philip)
1. Home is were is she

**Takes place just weeks after the coronation in the movie. Really short as it came from a burst of inspiration. Enjoy :D**

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Maleficent sat on a sturdy branch of the ember tree looking into the horizon. Rays of light cracked into the sky as the sun climbed lazily up the cliff. The breathtaking sunrise brought a smile to her face. Unbeknownst to her, Diaval was perched on a branch not meters behind her. He was too grinning but for a completely dissimilar reason.

Her golden brown hair flowed around her as the dew-filled breeze blew at her, ruffling her feathers and causing her wings to twitch at their edges. Her coat hung closely to her as a sudden strong gust of wind blew, showing the perfect curves that hid underneath. With the gods of the wind in his favour, the sweet and slightly spicy scent of yewlith flowers filled his nostrils. He took it all in, relishing every gust of it for it was her scent and it smelled like home.

_She is home._ To Diaval Maleficent was everything he wanted and needed. Wherever she went, he would follow.

As she stood and unfurled her majestic bronze coloured wings, Diaval spread his black raven wings. _Wherever she went. _

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**It's my first time writing a one-shot so do pardon me if it doesn't seem right. Do leave reviews on how I can improve! :D**

**P.S. I might write more :F**


	2. Ravens are not fit for winters

**Probably took place soon after the coronation in some winter. Enjoy :D****  
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Naturally ravens hated winters. In fact a normal raven would never have to experience winter in its lifetime for it migrates continuously to warmer lands. But Diaval is no normal raven for he could morph into any form, often to that of a human. That did not however, stop him from hating winters.

In winters, flights were painful and arduous as the frigid winds bit into his wings and he had to be stuck in this human form planted firmly to the ground.

They were so cold and freezing and each breath he took seemed to send knives plunging into his human lungs. The sorry sight of his surroundings only made it worse. There was no sign of animals or fair folk creatures, trees bent under the weight of huge piles of snow, bushes became mounds of more snow and even more snow covered every nook and cranny of the moors.

Everything is white. R_avens are black for a reason_, Diaval pouted.

Sometimes Diaval wondered why Maleficent never hibernated but the thought of the proud and powerful protector sleeping for months made him drop the notion. So occupied in trying to picture Maleficent hiberating, Diaval had failed to realise that it was almost nightfall. With hurried footsteps Diaval headed to his nest in the ember tree.

Well unfortunately for Diaval the winter gods must have heard him cursing about winter for the past one month for he slipped on an icy patch and a loud _crack_ echoed through the tranquil night. _Oh joy_, thought Diaval, _what a wonderful day this is. _

When had had finally arrived at the foot of the tree limping, Maleficent was woken from her sleep. She was about to shot something at him for being so late but caught herself in time as she saw his twisted ankle. She replaced a comment with a raised eyebrow instead as she flicked her finger to lift Diaval so that he now sat beside her.

_Well I fell on ice as I was coming back._ He decided to exclude the part that he might have offended the winter gods and pictured her hibernating. Suddenly a blinding pain shot up his leg. _OUCH! Couldn't you be gentler?_ The victorious look on Maleficent's face made Diaval regret what he just said. He had just passed her the ultimate card to use against him.

_Well no one asked you to come back after it was dark and what took you so long anyway. _

_It was nothing; nothing of any importance. _Diaval replied perhaps a bit too hastily.

Luckily for Diaval, Maleficent was exhausted and did not press him for answers. Looking at her back as she laid down Diaval knew he should be residing in his nest at the foot of the tree but he curled up beside Maleficent instead.

He fully expected her to send him flying out of her nest, _but at least I'll have this moment to myself._

What ensued next made his pale complexion flush bright red. Maleficent rolled about facing him and rested one of her wings on him, covering him completely. Both shared the warmth emitting from each other's body and fell into a deep slumber. Just before he succumbed to sleep, Diaval had the craziest of thoughts flashing past his mind.

_Maybe, just maybe, winters aren't so bad after all._

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**Do leave a review :D Requests on any one-shots will be entertained :)**


	3. It will be, soon

**_Requested by _****_I luv Milarion 1201 :D I had to wreck my brains for something that wasn't already posted up before because it would be unfair to the other writers :P_**

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Maleficent sat on a low branch of a rowan tree with her back on its trunk. Her feet were caked in mud. Maleficent corrected herself, _everything is caked in mud._

This summer had brought huge amounts of rain unlike all others before, turning every inch of soil in the moors into a soggy mud field. Maleficent hated it. She hated that no matter how she cleaned herself, the mud would creep back up to her. She hated that she had to painstakingly remove mud in each and every single feather she donned on her back. Most of all, she hated that there were mud fights _every_ single day.

At least for today she was not the target. Aurora and Philip have finally been able to pay her a visit with their 3 year old daughter, Catherine. As a welcoming party to show their _love, _the fair folks (mostly mud faeries) have decided to throw a mud fight. Diaval had soon joined in showing off his theatrical skills that Maleficent couldn't help but roll her eyes at.

_I, Diaval the mighty knight of the moors…ugf, _he choked on his lines for a moment as a mud ball from Philip hit him square in the face,_ have come to protect princess cat with unmatched in beauty in all the lands. _And with that he stood dramatically in front of Catherine with his arms splayed wide. Catherine hugged her self-declared hero's leg and started giggling, completely unware that Diaval attracted more mud than blocking it off. _And we the evil king and queen have come to hunt for the princess. Give her to us!_ To emphasize his point Philip and Aurora threw a flurry of mud balls soaking Diaval in a mud bath. Maleficent chortled, the scene that before her gave her a feeling of intimacy as memories surfaced.

_I shall protect the princess at all cost from the evil witch, do not fear Aurora, for Diaval is here._

_Aurora couldn't help but giggle as Diaval stood in front of her challenging anyone to throw mud balls at him._

_Maleficent rose to the challenge. And I, the mistress of all evil will strike you down! Take that!_

_Diaval opened his mouth to speak, a decision he thoroughly regretted for he swallowed a mouthful of mud. Taken by surprise he slipped face down into the mud, taking a few more mouths in the process. UGHHHHHHH! Was all he could muster before Maleficent was on him and they rolled down a mud-covered slope, each trying to get the upper hand. _

_By pure chance of luck, Diaval crouching over Maleficent's (although Diaval later claimed it was because he was stronger). It was just inches, inches that separated him and her. They gazed into each other's eyes and Diaval saw the yearning that lurked beneath its surface. He leaned forward to their mud-filled first kiss._

The sound of Philip guffawing and Diaval's strangled cry for help brought her back to the present. The evil king had won.

How Maleficent wished to join in the mud fight. _Soon_, she thought as her wings curled around her enlarged belly, _soon_.

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**Please leave a review! :D It'll be much appreciated!**


	4. Her last wish

**SORRY FOR NOT WRITING FOR SO LONG! WARNING: major character death. Reviews are much appreciated!**

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_"Humans age fast. It is known."_ The wind carried her words back to her in whispers:_ it is known_.

Blessings are curses in disguise. Love between two beings is a blessing, but it makes you vulnerable. Faeries live for hundreds of years, it is a blessing, but they have to watch as people they hold dear fade and disappear.

She could hear it in the wind _Aurora_. She heard it was calling, she was going to leave. But Maleficent refuse to accept it.

Aurora cannot leave her. He heart had been broken once and twice is far to much for her to bear. _"No. No. NO!"_ She did not wait for the wind to reply for she did not want to hear any of it. Each powerful flap of her wings brought her higher and higher into the clouds. She wanted to leave, to deny, to forget. But the images pierced her mind.

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_"Mother, mother..."_ Aurora's breaths were haggard and shallow, her pale blue lips quivering with each word. Her skin hung desperately onto her bones and her hair was now snow-white, displaying no signs of the beautiful golden it once was. Aurora had outlived the average lifespan of a human for Maleficent's powers sustained her but it could not stop her from aging. But now she wanted release._ "Mother... Let me go..."_ her hushed whispers pierced through her heart like knife on butter - Aurora wanted to leave her. _"No."_ how can she bare to she her daughter die while she did nothing?_ "No. Never."_ A single tear trickled down through the cervices that made up Aurora's face. No longer did she have the courage to face Aurora and she returned to the moors.

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_"Caw!"_ Something black was tailing her. It was Diaval._ No_, she will not hear any of his words, she will not waver. She picked up her speed and did not look behind, not once. And soon she could not hear him.

Unbeknownst to her, she had flown in the direction of the castle. In the inky darkness of a cloudy night, she was not seen, in the darkness she circled the castle and landed in Aurora's room. She was curled up on her side, shivering terribly despite the layers of blankets weighing down on her. _"Mother..."_ Maleficent turned, ready to escape again but Aurora's voice stopped her, _"let me fly...please..."_

How could she refuse? Aurora had given everything to her and had wished for nothing in return. This was her only wish. Tenderly she picked up her weightless body and cradled her close to her 's head rested on her shoulders and she closed her eyes as Maleficent flew until they were above the clouds.

She felt wind against her skin once again after the years confinement to her bed, it howled to her ears, flowed through her hair. Taking in a deep breath, Aurora opened her eyes to a world lit up by countless of stars littering the sky in abundance. She could feel the souls behind each and every star that shone down on her. They called out to her, they beckoned her to join them. _Aurora, Aurora. _Her soul reached out to them but iridescent eyes bore into her, willing her to stay. _"Mother... please..." _

Flight had not been her last wish.

Tears soaked Aurora's shirt as the magic that had jailed and anchored her to her body left. She was free to go. "I...love you...mot..." Her eyes closed as silver and golden wisps left her heart and twirled joyfully into the sky.

A scream pierced through the air shattering the beautiful silence as Maleficent clutched on to the lifeless body of her daughter. It was her last wish.


	5. Aurora's last wish, her pain

Aurora's funeral was held at the central clearing of the moors according to Aurora's wish. She laid on a raised platform made up of roots and twigs woven tightly together, body preserved by magic. Donning a simple light blue dress and a slight smile that had never left her face since she had left her physical body, Aurora almost seem like her old self again: Bright, beautiful and buoyant.

Many people from different lands visited to pay their respects to the monarch and her reign. They came and went like the rising and ebbing of tide and after two days, all had left except the fair folks who stood behind Maleficent mourning for their loss. Even Diaval and Aurora's family have left albeit very unwillingly for uprisings had occurred in the north of the lands and their presences were needed.

And so Maleficent knelt before Aurora's body. For hours, days, weeks, she could not fathom. Days melded into nights as she stubbornly keep vigil by her side. Balthazar had tried to remove her more than once. But she fought him. Shrieking and raking her nails across the hands that held her. She consumed nothing other then a sticky substance that Balthazar forced down her throat. A _mother_, to attend her _daughter's_ funeral. To watch helplessly as her daughter left her. It was a tragedy and pain many will never live to experience. But no tears left her bloodshot eyes for they have long dried. All she did was just to gaze at Aurora's form and pray, pray that it was all just a dream. Pray that she would wake up, wake up to call her "_mother_". Just that once. Was that too much to ask?

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"_Maleficent!_" Maleficent's cracked lips parted into a small smile drawing blood. _My daughter, I will be with you soon_. And finally, she delved into darkness's embrace.

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When her eyes fluttered open, she was not part of the many stars that twinkled down on her. She propped herself up and looked at Aurora's sleeping form on her grave next to her. She was white, she had no signs of life, she was dead._ Aurora's dead. Aurora's dead. She's dead._ Maleficent chanted to herself as she rocked back and forth. The words tasted bitter as they rolled out of her tongue.

_It was all her fault, she shouldn't have let her go_. Maleficent curled into a ball. _She shouldn't have let her go._ Her nails dug into her arms. _SHE SHOULDN'T! _She let out one agonizing howl as she dragged her nails across her pale arms. Emotional pain and loss melted into physical pain. At last, escape.

"_NO!_" A black form jumped on her locking her arms above her head. She fought back. She needed to numb herself, to gain release. "LET GO!" She tore out and nails met flesh; blood spilling around them. Then she caught sight of Aurora's still body. _"No...No..." _Her breaths hitched, her body shook. She curled into a ball convulsing in sobs. _"No...No...No..."_ Sturdy arms held her and she uneasy she walked into the world of nightmares.

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Blood had spilled all over her torn dress, caking it crimson red. Deep angry wounds on her hands stood out against the pale white skin.

Diaval cried. Every time she woke, she would carve more wounds on her arms to drown herself in pain. No matter how he screamed her name, how he held her down willing her to see him, she did not recognise him. She had forgotten. He placed her head in his lap and stroked her head... Tears streamed down into his torn and tattered shirt, into the wounds in his chest. But it did not hurt for his heart ached far more. Maleficent had forgotten him.

The sunlight in his eyes stirred him awake. Even before opening his eyes he knew something was amiss, the weight on his lap... _Maleficent_! He instantly shot up, she had awoken without screams and left. Blood thumped in his ears and his breaths deepened."_Maleficent!"_ He was afraid and he had a reason to be. He needed to be beside her, he didn't know what she might do to herself. Morphing into a bird, he flew high above the moors searching for the horns that usually stood out but she was no where to be found.

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She didn't know where she was going, she didn't bother. Her legs dragged heavily below her, with her head dropping and her eyes glazed, her feet found the castle ruins she hid in so many years ago. "_Mother!_" Her head snapped back and she spun around. Aurora was standing right before her wearing a white dress and she was once again the young and beautiful girl who loved everything about life. "_No... It can't be..._"

"_Come mother!_" Aurora beckoned. "_Wait!" _She trailed behind Aurora higher and higher to the top of the ruins. Aurora suddenly stopped and turned to face her. She held her hands towards her, inviting her into an embrace. Fixated on her own daughter Maleficent did not notice that Aurora stood on air, beyond the floors of the ruins. "_Come mother..._" She took a step. She could almost touch her fingers. "_Auro..._" Just when she was about to take another, something held onto her waist pulling her backwards. "_NO!_" She clawed at the arms. "_NO! AURORA!_" She reached out. She was so close.

"_MALEFICENT!_" The thing was calling her name but she thrashed even harder, doesn't he understand that Aurora is there?!

"_STOP! AURORA DIED! SHE'S DEAD! SHE'S NOT THERE!"_ He clutched on to her with an iron grip. "_SHE'S. NOT. THERE!_" Aurora smiled one last time and turned, fading away into the inky canvas. "_AURORA!_" Her screams echoed, bringing her sorrows across the frigid human lands. She wanted wriggle free of those unforgiving arms and follow her daughter into the skies and beyond.

_"NO! No. No..."_ She broke down into uncontrollable sobs as she sunk her nails into her arms opening new and old wounds alike. Aurora was waiting for her. "_Stop_." He sounded frustrated and angry. "_Stop_." He held onto her bloodied hands prying them from the wounds they inflicted. "_Stop_." The voice now softer and more worried. The strong arms turned her around and onyx eyes searched hers. She saw him. He was there. He is no longer a shadow or a fight she needed to overcome. He was Diaval. She howled at him for taking her away from the skies, for the pain she felt, for his stubborn loyalty. She hammered into his chest but his unwavering arms just held her.

She needed him and he would be there for her. "_No matter what"_, he let the howling winds bring his promise to the twinkling sky.


	6. Her last wish part 3

**SO SO SORRY FOR THE LATE POST :P my house wifi crashed for a week! **

**Here's a continuation for Aurora's death. Without further ado,**

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**_BROKEN COMPLETENESS_**

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She hardly spoke now. During the rare occasions when she did, it was out of necessity and most, in fact all the time it was with Diaval. She woke, she ate what Diaval convince her to and she slept. It was a painful cycle she trudged through each day. Sometimes just before she slipped into the world of dreams she silently hoped to never awake. But each day without fail her eyes would slide open to reality and a few nights it was to pain and blood. Tonight sleep eluded her. She gazed longing up into the star streaked streaked canvas hanging above her. The physical world once so beautiful is now a no more than a burden.

But there was one person, one person that kept her thoughts in check, one person that was sustaining her, giving her meaning to keep on living.

_"Maleficent? Are you alright? It's already deep into the night." _

It was not a necessity to speak thus she did not peel her eyes off the night skies. As if reading her mind, Diaval placed his hand on her shoulders. _"I'm still here." _Yes, indeed he was. She knew that he was always there and will forever be. Without him she did not know what she would have done. He was the one who held her when nightmares threatened to suffocate her, he was the one who took her nails out of her flesh, he was the one who stopped her from giving in to the temptations the cliffs offered.

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Diaval mourned too. Each night when he believed no eyes where on him, tears rolled down his cheeks. He cried for the lost of Aurora and for Maleficent. He could see that she tried to fight back the demons she had for him and he knew that he was the only reason she was still alive. But no matter how he tried, the dreams and wounds on her arms did not disappear and neither did his own demons.

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They were two broken halves; but they would complete each other.


	7. Accidental joy

**_ACCIDENTAL JOY_**

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_"Diaval."_ Was that someone calling his name? Ugh, he wanted to sleep. He swatted his hand in the direction of the voice. Sleep turned into _"sleup!"_ as he attempted to convey his one and only wish.

_"Diaval"_ she pressed harder. "Stappuuh! Sleep!" Diaval rolled back on his side.

_"DIAVAL!"_ Someone was shaking him by his shoulders hard.

_"Ugh... Who... What..."_ It took all the effort in the world to peel his eyelids open.

A pair of familiar eyes looked intently at him, it was Maleficent._ "Why did you..." _Then only did his sluggish brain process his surroundings. Maleficent's nest.

_"Mal...Maleficent!"_ He immediately shot straight up, body tense and all his weariness gone. _"I'm... I... I must have fallen asleep in your nest by accident..."_

_"Well, then what will you do to express your apology?"_ Maleficent laid lazily in her nest with arms crossed.

_"Wha...what...?"_ This was not what he expected. There was no anger or resentment in her silver-green eyes, there was only amusement. Did he hear that correctly?

_"What, will you do, to express your apology?"_ Maleficent enunciated each word slowly and clearly. As it registered in Diaval's brain, he went slack-jawed. _"I...I..."_ was all he could manage; earning him a lifted eyebrow and curled lip.

_"Yes you?"_

_"I... I'll..."_ He could not complete his sentence before a cold and slimy glob hit his face. Mud. A laughter rang through the air, clear and sharp.

_"What was that for!"_ Diaval whimpered as he wiped way the viscous mud that clinched onto his face.

_"Well, there, here's your punishment. I saved you the trouble of thinking one up."_ A smirk spread over her sharp facial features as amusement danced across her now emerald eyes.

Well, if he got to see and hear her laugh ever morning he awoken, he definitely wouldn't mind being punished for accidentally sleeping beside her. But for now a revenge was formulating in his mind and it can all summed up into a word: _MUD_.

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**Do leave comments if possible! :D Thank you for taking the time to read! :D**


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